Glassy aluminum base alloys have been considered for structural applications in the aerospace industry. These alloys may involve the addition of rare earth and/or transition metal elements. Such alloys have high tensile strengths, often exceeding 200 ksi. However, disadvantageously these materials evidence little if any ductility in bulk form in the glassy state.
In an effort to impart ductility to these materials, various degrees of devitrification have been induced through heat treatment and it has been found that these materials still remain brittle. This appears to stem from the fact that these materials have a relatively high atomic percent of rare earth and/or transition metal elements for good glass formability; consequently, such alloys typically have a high volume fraction of an intermetallic phase or intermetallic phases in the devitrified state and this results in alloys that are dead brittle and useless as structural materials.
It is, therefore, a principal objective of the present invention to provide aluminum base alloys that overcome the foregoing disadvantages and are characterized by high strength and high ductility in the devitrified state.
Further objects and advantages of the present invention will appear hereinbelow.